1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to automatic systems for maintaining a predetermined desired level of water in a swimming pool or the like, and more particularly to an automatic system for monitoring the actual level of water in the pool by the position of a float supported within a float chamber on water siphoned from the recirculation system of the pool, detecting whenever the level of water in the pool is at least a predetermined distance or amount below a predetermined desired level, as indicated by the float position, and for controlling the input of fresh water into the pool in response to the detected level for restoring the water level in the pool to the predetermined desired level, as indicated by the float having been returned to said float level indicative of the predetermined desired water level by the additional water siphoned into the float chamber from the pool or pool circulation system.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Outdoor swimming pools of all shapes and sizes, and of all types and configurations, are in relatively wide use today for recreation, exercise, therapy, and entertainment. Most such pools are designed or constructed to operate with a predetermined desired water level that must be maintained within relatively close limits to insure proper operation of the water circulation and filter systems associated with the pool. This presents a problem in the upkeep and maintainance of the pool for most people. Such problems have included the necessity of removing foreign matter from the pool by filtering or the like; a requirement for adding various chemical agents to control the level of bacteria, the amount of algae present and the clarity of the water; and, particularly in hot dry or arid areas, the necessity for adding additional water to maintain a predetermined desired level of water in the pool to make up for water losses due to evaporation, spillage, and the like, in order to insure proper operation of the systems at all times.
Typically, foreign matter has been filtered from the pool water through a recirculation filtration system which includes a circulating pump, a filter, and a fluid conduit connecting the filtration system in a circulation-type path between a pool outlet and a pool inlet. Such prior art filtration systems have commonly been automatically times so as to provide an automated removal of foreign matter with only periodic maintenance of the pump and filter being required of the pool owner.
Failure to fill the pool to the predetermined desired level after use of evaporation has lowered the level of water in the pool, may result in damage to the associated pump, heater, filter or recirculation system as a whole. A sufficient drop in the level of water in the pool will render the recirculation system, or at least the skimmer portion, totally inoperative. Typically, the water level in the swimming pool has been maintained manually by continually observing the level visually and periodically adding water as required from a garden hose, or the like. Since this requires personal attention by the pool owner it is a definite inconvenience, and attempts have been made to develop a system for automatically adjusting the water level in the pool.
Typically, such prior art attempts involved the mounting of a simple float valve at pool-side. When the pool level drops, the float valve opens a pipe leading to a fresh water source, and water is added to the pool until the raised level then closes the float valve. However, such systems present several additional problems, including the necessity for building an expensive addition or anomaly to the pool wall in order to mount the float valve, and the potential for damage or injury being afflicted upon the valve, and upon users of the pool by the valve are serious problems. The fact that the pool-side location exposes the entire valve mechanism to the corrosive action of the various chemical agents in the pool leads to even further serious problems and complications.
Various techniques of the prior art are known for filling and/or draining swimming pools, and these are generally described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,739,939; 2,809,752; 2,891,845; 3,386,197; 3,739,405; 3,848,627; 3,895,402; 3,908,206; 3,997,925; 4,211,249; and 4,373,220. None of the prior art attempts have actually solved the above-stated problems without creating even more additional problems of their own.
In nearly every case, the retrofitting of an existing pool with equipment for automatically controlling the water level usually involved expensive and undesirable reconstruction of the pool and the surrounding decking or at least required complicated valve systems, conduits, and controls. Therefore, an urgent and long-felt need continues to exist for an automatic pool level-adjusting system which does not require that a structural anomaly be added to the pool itself, which is protected from access by users of the pool, which is at least substantially isolated from the corrosive chemical agents, bacteria, and algae within the pool water itself, and which is relatively simple, easy-to-install, and maintenance-free thereafter.